Although many people take water abundance for granted, large parts of Earth’s population aren’t so fortunate. Devastating droughts destroy harvests, make soil infertile and allow deserts to increase in size. “We never know the worth of water until the well is dry.” It’s a quote that resonates with Desert Control. And it’s one of the reasons why they created their patented Liquid NanoClay (LNC). Through a patented mixing process, LNC combines clay and water and is then spread onto sandy soil. It enables the soil to retain water, turning desert into fertile soil.

Production of LNC happens on site. And the compound is applied by adding it to irrigation water, using sprinklers to spread it across the affected land. The mix sinks into the soil, creating a 40-60 centimeter deep layer, which retains the water like a sponge. This layer stops water from evaporating and ensures optimal growing conditions for vegetation. Saving water and increasing yields.

Cultivating sandy soil into fertile land normally takes from seven to fifteen years. Desert Control’s LNC accomplishes that in just seven hours. One application of LNC lasts a minimum of five years. What’s more, only natural products are used during production and LNC doesn’t contain any chemicals.

Customers will save between one-half to one-third of the water they are currently using to irrigate land for food and bio-crops. Tests have also shown a significant yield increase on anything planted in soil treated with LNC and fertilizer. Turning desert to green land also lowers the surface temperature around 15°C while reducing CO2 emissions by 15–25 tons per hectare. If Liquid NanoClay is used in just 1 percent of the targetable arid land to reforest, the uptake of CO2 would be 26 million tons of CO2 annually.

Desert Control is currently showcasing applications in Saudi Arabia and Dubai and plans to continue broader showcasing in the near future.

Kristian P. Olesen is inventor of Liquid NanoClay and serves as COB & CTO of Desert Control. After assisting another inventor testing a sand surface coating, Kristian invented the Liquid NanoClay Soil enhancer and has been developing and testing it for the last eight years. Ole Morten Olesen is CEO of Desert Control. He has an extensive background in R&D and has been instrumental in developing and testing LNC and getting Desert Control to where it is today. Andreas Julseth is COO Andreas was involved in start-ups in China and Norway. He also has experience working in the Norwegian oil industry.

"Some technologies are so disruptive that it's hard to imagine the consequences: visualizing most deserts as green farmland, with unlimited pure water is one of them. Knowing that this technology exists now, one can't help, but think of the Klondike gold rush, as we now stand at the threshold of a new gold rush, only this time it's for the green gold.” Ole M. Olesen CEO. Contact +47 46665455

Company facts

Name:

Desert Control

Business:

Based in Stavanger, Norway, Desert Control is a clean tech company that specializes in turning deserts to green land using their patented Liquid NanoClay. Through a patented mixing process, LNC combines clay and water and is then spread onto sandy soil. It enables the soil to retain water, turning desert into fertile soil.

The climate innovation:

Converting arid land into fertile soil

Climate Effect:

If Liquid NanoClay is used in just 1 percent of the targetable arid land to reforest, the uptake of CO2 would be 26 million tons of CO2 annually.